Women and wisdom of Japan

LIBRARY OF
WELLESLEY COLLEGE

PRESENTED BY

The Mayllog Soong Foundation

XLbc Mt6^om of tbe iBast Series

Edited by

L. CRANMER-BYNG

Dr. S. A. KAPADIA

WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

First Edition . , . /une 1905
Reprinted . . . May 1909

WISDOM OF THE EAST

WOMEN AND WISDOM
OF JAPAN

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY SHINGORO TAKAISHI

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

1909

252806

v^A

nc-i

t\6

CONTENTS

Introduction H

I

Girl's Instruction . . . . • .33

II

Demarkation between the Sexes , • • 34

III

" Seven Reasons for Divorce " . , • ,35

IV

The Wife's Miscellaneous Duties , , , 38

7

8 CONTENTS

V

PAGE

The Treatment op Servants . , , , 42

VI

The Infirmities of Woman • , , , 44

APPENDIX A
The Japanese Eevolution . , . , , 49

APPENDIX B
The Legal Conditions for a Divorce , , 63

EDITORIAL NOTE

THE object of the editors of this series is a
very definite one. They desire above all
things that, in their humble way, these books
shall be the ambassadors of good-will and
understanding between East and West, the old
world of Thought, and the new of Action. In
this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they
are but followers of the highest example in the
land. They are confident that a deeper know-
ledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy
of Oriental thought may help to a revival of
that true spirit of Charity which neither despises
nor fears the nations of another creed and
colour. Finally, in thanking press and pubHc
for the very cordial reception given to the
*' Wisdom of the East " series, they wish to state
that no pains have been spared to secure the
best specialists for the treatment of the various
subjects at hand.

L. CRANMER-BYNG.
S. A. KAPADIA.

northbrook society,
185 Piccadilly, V/.

19

INTEODIJCTION

THE sole basis of the entire moral teaching
of Japan may be said, in the briefest phrase,
to consist of the spirit of unselfishness. Thus,
humility in place of ostentation, reserve in place
of reclame, self-sacrifice in place of selfishness,
forbearance in place of impetuosity, and complete
submission to authority are the principal features
of the Japanese moral code ; on these corner-
stones stands the whole edifice under which the
Eastern people have been brought up.

The Onna Daigaku, or the " Greater Learning
for Women," which is the text of this little book,
is, as its title indicates, a half-dogmatised precept
exclusively intended for women. The author
is Kaibara Ekken, the famous moralist of Japan,
who flourished about two hundred years ago.
Kaibara Ekken was a great scholar of Japanese
literature, with an immense knowledge of Chinese
ethics. It is beyond question that his idea of
morality was, to a great extent, formed on Chinese
lines, as most of the other thinkers' and moralists'

U

12 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

ideas in those days were. But his style of writing
was by no means the same as that of his compeers.
The tranquilHty and uniform peacefulness at-
tained under the Tokugawa Government, thanks
to the subtle and shrewd policy inaugurated by its
revered founder, lyeyasu, whereby the ambitions
of the great feudal lords had been curbed, had
naturally given a great impetus to the growth
of various arts and of their peaceful pursuance
by the people. Of the products of that genera-
tion literature stood foremost. The scholars and
thinkers indulged themselves in researches con-
nected with nothing but the higher classics, both
of the Japanese and Chinese. Their works were
mostly written either in the Chinese way or the
most classical style of their own language, no
matter what were the subjects of their essays.
Amid this pedantic fashion, Kaibara alone busied
himself in expounding his own moral principles
in the most popular style of writing known in
his days. It is no great wonder that his works
were read by the book-hungered people to such
an extent that in a comparatively short interval
of time it was not seldom that his works were to
be found on even the scantily furnished shelves
in poor merchants' houses, people of a class that
was in those days the least addicted to reading,
save in respect of a few standard books of tra-
ditional value and antiquity.

The Onna Daigaku was, of his many books,

THE GREATER LEARNING FOR WOMEN 13

the most popular, and for nearly two centuries
after its publication it was looked upon through-
out the country as one of the indispensable
articles of a bride's trousseau box. The general
trend of his doctrine, however, was by no means
a new one ; there had already been a few similar
essaj^s written by typical Samurai moralists
dealing with the same subject, though they were
of the casual and fragmentary nature. His book,
moreover, was certainly not one of those which,
as we find here and there in history, have effected
great revolutions in the deep-rooted thoughts
of a nation or in the moral conceptions prevailing
among a people. I believe, nevertheless, that
I am not mistaken in describing his book, on the
whole, as one which represents and embodies
the moral sense of the people of his day. He it
was who combined traditional sayings and frag-
mental precepts with his own morality, and set
them down in readable form. Hence, in other
words, he guided the masses who had but a vague
comprehension of female morality in the direction
towards which they wished to be led, and gave
them an infallible belief in the truth of his teaching.
At the same time it will be well understood that
the great demand for his book was due, apart
from its own intrinsic merit, to the fact that in
those early days there was a ridiculously small
number of popular books accessible to the reader,
especially for women. Under these circumstances

14 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

his books had tremendous vogue, and it is in-
deed hardly to be credited, perhaps, by Western
readers how great and sweeping was the influence
that the doctrine contained in the Onna Daigaku
had upon the popular idea of female morality.
It was like a holy command ; it was like a
religion which people never ventured to depart
from nor even to criticise.

It is always a subject for wonder that, apart
from the differences that otherwise exist, there
should be such utterly opposed ideas existing
between Orientals and Occidentals in regard to
the moral position of women. While it is un-
doubtedly a difficult thing to understand, at
least for the Easterners, how the Western woman
has gained such a pre-eminence over the Western
man in social life, it is no less hard for an Occi-
dental to comprehend how the reverse state of
things in the East should have come into exist-
ence. It seems to me, however, that the old
Eastern moralists fully realised the strong in-
fluence which the fair sex has ever possessed by
her nature over the other sex, and their dread
of her resulted in the publication of the doctrine
of her subordination to man and of her complete
negation as a power. It was as far back as
500 B.C. that Confucius, the greatest of all Chinese
teachers, said, " Man and woman should never
sit in the same apartment after they reach seven
years of age." This was the first principle of

WOMEN THE SOURCE OF EVIL 15

the demarkation of the sexes to be observed
between man and woman, and, indeed, the very
germ of that negativeness of woman with which
the relation between the sexes was to be regarded.
The woman was to be left alone, the man had
nothing to contribute towards her elevation. The
more power the woman had, the stronger were
the wiles against which, they confessed, man
could ofiFer but a feeble resistance. Then there
came another version. The Buddhists said,
" Woman is a creature with the look of an angel
on its countenance, but with a diabolical spirit
in its inmost heart." " Woman is full of sin ;
nothing is to be dreaded so much as a woman,"
they further insisted. (It is interesting to note
here that in ancient days this idea was in no way
peculiar to the East, for we know that Socrates
in the West, almost at the same period, said,
" Woman is the source of all evil ; her love is to
be dreaded more than the hatred of man ; the
poor young men who seek women in matrimony
are like fish who go to meet the hook.")

Thus, as it may be seen, while one school
exhorted men not to have any dealings with
woman, or at least to observe with the utmost
rigidity the line of separation from her, the other
went further, demonstrating her sinfulness and
devilish depravity from the religious point of
view. These ideas, with contemporary civilisa-
tion and literature, spread across to Japan from

16 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

the Asiatic Continent like eagles in full flight. It
is no great wonder that in consequence the edu-
cation of our women was neglected and her in-
telligence became more and more narrow, owing to
there being little or no chance for her to see things
in the outer world. The next thing which was
bound to happen was man's contempt and disdain
for woman, for her narrow-mindedness and
stupidity. Thus, one wrong brought another in
its train.

Woman's position in Japan, especially in her
social relations, sank deeper and deeper into
neglect and obscurity, when the incessant
struggles between the feudal lords, generation
after generation, rendered the whole country but
a huge battle-field, and stirred our warriors to
warlike frenzy in their search for the glory of
brave deeds. This can be fully illustrated when
we remember that some seventeen centuries ago
there was a vague yet indisputable existence of
a kind of Court society, a social feature which
invariably gave ladies excellent chances to raise
their relative influence over courtiers ; and that it
was during this age we saw more female writers and
other distinguished members of the fair sex than
ever we did subsequently. But soon after, when,
what we call Buke Jidai came upon the scene
and the practical hold of the reins shifted from
the Emperor to the Shogun, there was no room
left for woman to display her natural charms.

THE AGE OF NEGLECT 17

Everywhere people went they saw nothing but
warriors clad in full armour, sword in hand. The
Bushi was disappointed and disheartened when
he saw his wife gave birth to a girl, because, in
his eyes, there was no attainment to rank and
fame open to his child in its career : for he could
not take her with him to the field, as he could a
son, to fight for his lord. Woman became a mere
being to rear up the posterity ! Woman was left
neglected, became more and more ignorant and
docile, and was reduced to a purely domestic
existence. It was most disgraceful to a Bushi
to be moved by woman's sway, no matter in what
directions, or even to think too much of her. A
man's heart, it was considered, when occupied
with the higher conception of duty and devotion
towards the Emperor or his overlord, had no
place left for lighter cares. Effeminacy was the
most shameful blot upon the chivalry of the age.
Though the Bushi was taught to protect the
weaker of either sex, yet extreme severity and
coolness of demeanour towards the fair sex was
regarded as a proof of a man's martial endur-
ance. Truly, as Professor Chamberlain has said,
" neither God nor the ladies inspired any enthu-
siasm in the Samurai's heart," nor did he ever
perform his valiant deeds for such a fanciful
reward as a lady's smile. Love was understood
to be inconsistent with valour : attachment to
a woman was feared as a discouragement rather

9

18 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

than a stimulant to achievement. Where, then,
could the poor woman stand ? But there was
no help for it, for it was her fate to submit !

As our readers will see, Kaibara Ekken de-
scribes the five worst infirmities which afflict the
female mind, and he mentions silliness or stupidity
as the worst of all and the parent of the other
four. He attributed the inferiority of woman
to man more particularly to this fact. It is of
importance, in order to understand the true bear-
ing of his doctrine, that this point should be
particularly borne in mind. Thus he concludes
that when viewed from the standard of man's
nature, the foolishness of woman prevents her
from understanding the duties that lie before her
very eyes. We then have to allow that our
women in those days were far inferior to men
in every respect than was the case with most of
the other races. Blind obedience to her husband,
which, he tells us, was the safest way, was con-
sidered to have been completely justified by this
fact. But I must ask myself what Kaibara
meant by the silliness and foolishness of woman.
I cannot, however, think that our women, even
in those times, were mentally imperfect or lacking
in intellect. In short, his point of argument
seems to be this : that a woman was too apt to
give way to her passion ; as she did not see much
of the world, she knew little how to wend her
way ; she was too bashful and palpitating of

A CREATURE OF IMPULSE 19

heart to deal wisely with the other sex. Thus
a husband was looked upon as a man who is
guiding a blind person — one who sees absolutely
nothing. It is altogether without significance
that so learned a man like Kaibara Ekken did
not even attempt to suggest any remedy for
females' " foolishness," but that, on the con-
trary, he took it to be an ineradicable failing
due to the nature of the fair sex. Be that as
what it may, it is undoubtedly true that the
Japanese woman, even at the present day, is the
shyest being in the world !

Turning our eyes to the husband — a husband
who had such an unrestricted control over his
wife and was regarded as the safest guide of his
shy and delicate wife — it is most natural that
he should at once find himself confronted with
important questions. Then, did the Japanese
husband fulfil his duty properly in the guidance
of his consort ? Or, at least, was he well de-
serving of being entrusted with such a tremendous
responsibility ? I could not be reproached for
a want of straightforwardness if I were to say,
answering these questions, that he did not quite
deserve to enjoy such warm affection and tender
respect as every Japanese wife was willing to
pay him. But he was by no means a bad hus-
band. I can say safely that he loved, fondled,
and petted his wife, no less than our Western
husbanb does, But the laws of morality forbade

20 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

him to pay her much respect in the outward
manner, and thus to allow her real independence.
Here I quite agree with Professor Chamberlain
when he rightly and wittily says : " We would
not have it thought that Japanese women are
actually ill-used ; there is probably very little
of wife-beating in Japan, neither is there any
Zenana system, any veiling of the face ; rather
is it that women are all their lives treated as
babies, neither trusted with the independence
which our modern manners allow, nor command-
ing the romantic homage which was woman's
dower in Mediaeval Europe." In fact, they were
simply petted. The Japanese wife would have
been greatly surprised if we should rashly conclude
that, inasmuch as she did not share the public
enjoyments and pomps of society with her
husband, and inasmuch as she did not enjoy the
acquaintance of her husband's friends, she was
an unhappy wife.

However, apart from all minor considerations,
to understand the true significance of the moral
sense which gave rise to the Onna Daigaku doc-
trine, we have to consider the very basis of the
general character of moral teaching in Japan.
The seeming absurdity and apparent paradox
of the doctrine, even to our Eastern eyes, will
never be truly understood unless we extend our
gaze to the general conception of morality by
which the people have so long been governed.

THE TEACHING OF BUSHIDO 21

As I said at the beginning, the basis of the
Japanese moral teaching consists in the highest
sense of self-denial, self-abnegation, or any
antithesis to selfishness. Take for an instance
the Bushido, the most salient feature in the
Japanese morality. (I may add that there is
no dogma of the Bushido, nor any written code.)
It preaches submission to authority, utter de-
votion to one's overlord, and self-sacrifice of
all private interest, whether of self or family,
to the common weal. It is the morale of self-
sacrifice. Now the Bushido, if it be translated
into English, means " the way of the warriors '*
or " warrior's spirit." In other words, it is a
moral teaching for men ; or it may be, for con-
venience' sake, termed " the Greater learning for
men," compared with " the Greater learning for
women." Of course, the Bushido is of the more
dominating and overwhelming nature, and covers
a much wider sphere in its application, and,
furthermore, it may be said, almost without any
fear of exaggeration, that the doctrine of Onna
Daigaku is a different form of the Bushido spirit.
This view will be more clearly confirmed when
we notice Kaibara say, " A woman has no par-
ticular lord ; she must look to her husband."
This is indeed the key of his whole doctrine.
The Bushido commands loyalty to one's lord ;
the Onna Daigaku loyalty to woman's husband,
who was, as we have just seen, truly her lord.

22 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

Therefore, though it was not inculcated in quite
the same form and manner, we shall see that
what a Bushi did towards his lord was in its
essence what a wife did towards her husband.
The apparent impartiality of her treatment and
severity of duty imposed upon the Japanese
woman by the doctrine was no great wonder
when we, in turn, look upon her husband, who,
under the strictest discipline of the Bushido,
had to act most unselfishly in the discharge of
his duties to his liege lord. So, it is well to be
remembered that the Onna Daigaku is but an
offshoot from the general principle which tells
us that nothing is nobler than self-sacrifice.
Thus we shall also see that it was not woman
only who was to submit to her superior, but so
was man too to his superior, though the objects
of their subjection were not certainly reciprocal.
The moralists of antiquity asked themselves,
" Why should woman alone be freed from the
divine duty of human beings which Nature im-
partially imposed upon us ? " But man of the
present day would retort, " While a man receives
woman's subjection in return for his subjection
to his lord, and thus fills the gap, so to speak ;
where and what can a woman obtain in return
for her subjection to her husband ? " As a man
of the present day I am not backward in joining
my voice to the chorus in this protest.

Next, what we notice is the onerous nature

A WIFE'S DUTIES 23

of duties imposed upon a wife towards her parents-
in-law. This is undoubtedly the outcome of the
combined idea of ancestor-worship and the main-
tenance of the family name, and also the inevitable
result of the practice of married couples living
in the same house with their parents. An eldest
son, an heir, be he real or adopted, was to
succeed to his father's position as head of the
family ; and to make himself a worthy family
head he had to learn every minor matter besides
business affairs, if there were any, appertaining
to the family : from the personality, if not
character, of every member among his relations
— generally numerous in number — and all sorts
of family specialities in various matters, social
or domestic, religious or ceremonial — most of
them descended from the time immemorial —
down to the kinds of gifts to be given to his
tenants and servants on certain occasions ; all
had to be well understood by him. His wife,
too, could not be held entirely irresponsible in
these matters. Therefore a man and his wife,
on their wedding, entered into an apprenticeship
under those whom they would presently succeed.
A woman's parents-in-law being, sooner or later,
to join a group of her family ancestors, she was
taught to serve them with the utmost reverence
and worship. We often see even now a large
family where a grandfather and grandmother
enjoy their companionship with their sons and

24 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

daughters and boys and girls who are yet further
remote offspring of theirs. While solitude and
loneliness in a family are with us of rare occurrence,
the youthful jubilation of a young couple at their
secluded settlement is no usual happening.

Finally, we are naturally anxious to know
what effect the doctrine may have brought about
upon the Japanese women, or at least how far it
has influenced woman's character. The object
of the investigation exists now before our eyes,
and everybody can draw conclusions as he or she
may like. But for my part I am quite certain
that for good or evil the Japanese women, to
say nothing of the other characters, are the most
obedient, docile, submissive, and even most
humble women in the world. Thus woman's
power of independence and self-reliance so far dis-
appeared, or even if possessed of those qualities,
she could hardly find a chance to display them
without exciting much objection and disgust
in her husband and relatives at large. Of the
other characteristics of our women, I am not by
any means a good judge, and I think it much
better to quote what foreigners — I am glad to
say they are chiefly English — say of our women.
Professor Chamberlain, who is beyond question
an authority on Japan, says, *' Japanese women
are most womanly, kind, gentle, pretty." Here
is a most daring compliment from the pen of
an Englishman, which runs as follows : " How

WESTERN IDEAS 26

sweet Japanese woman is ! All the possibilities
of the race for goodness seem to concentrate in
her. It shakes one's faith in some Oriental
doctrines. If this be the result of suppression
and oppression, then these are not altogether
bad. On the other hand, how diamond-hearted
the character of the American woman becomes
under the idolatry of which she is the object.
In the eternal order of things, which is the higher
being — the childlike, confiding, sweet Japanese
girl, or the superb, calculating, penetrating
Occidental Circe of our more artificial society,
w^ith the enormous power for evil and her limited
capacity for good ? " One critic went even
further — little to the comfort of man — saying
decidedly, " They are immeasurably superior
to men." After all this, it is no exaggeration to
say that the unanimous verdict given by Western
observers is, that the Japanese woman is charm-
ing, sweet, gentle, and tender. Great compliment
as it is to our women, I am inclined to think that
some judges must have been struck by it as a
strange phenomenon, and, moreover, their con-
clusions may have been drawn after a little
over-strained experience in their Western matri-
monial life, or some of them may have been prone
to indulge a little in day-dreams.

Yet as a wife, her sincere affection, her loving
tenderness, and her true, faithful devotion to her
husband is most remarkable. It seems to me that

26 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

these natures are not merely a " result of sup-
pression and oppression." The late Mr. Lafcadio
Hearn, after giving his admirable translation of
a diary left by a married Japanese woman, said,
*' The brave resolve of the woman to win affection
by docility and by faultless performance of duty,
her gratitude for every small kindness, her child-
like piety, her supreme unselfishness, her Buddhist
interpretation of suffering as the penalty for some
faults committed in a previous life, her attempt
to write poetry when her heart was breaking —
all this I find touching and more than touching.
But I do not find it exceptional ! The traits
revealed are typical — typical of the moral nature
of the people." Indeed, as a wife, the Japanese
woman is of a quiet, peaceful disposition, fond
of home, virtuous, and generally of an appear-
ance that should not cause her husband to ever
be jealous of her. She is homely ; haughtiness
and superciliousness are foreign to our sense of
beauty.

As for an unmarried girl, men might almost
say, " We don't know what she is like." She
is not the property of any young man, nor does
she belong to herself, but to her parents. Friend-
ship between a girl and a young man is non-
existent in Japan. A girl at present is not at
all under such a strict supervision as she was
in former days, yet she is incapable of meeting
young men on terms of equality, even to

THE JAPANESE VIEW 27

have a two minutes' talk with them ; she is more
than shy, bashful, and palpitating. She does
not, on the other hand, appear in man's eyes
anything but a delicate and fragile porcelain
figure. Of course, man is not quite free from
censure, since his handling of the figure is not
altogether gentle. Marriage being carried out
entirely by her parents' will, her virgin days
form but a long continuation of her child life ;
of flirtation and courtship she knows nothing.
One may, then, naturally wonder what a dull
life a Japanese young man leads !

Lastly, I may briefly touch upon the present
state of the problem. As things in Japan are
still in a state of transition after such a great
social revolution,* and especially so of the
people's morals, it is no easy task to see in which
direction the wind is really blowing. At present,
however, the people have not to any noticeable
extent departed from the spirit resting upon
Kaibara's doctrine. Of course, I must mention
that his work, the Onna Daigaku, is no longer
a favourite book of women, and that perhaps
nine girls out of ten have not had even a glimpse
of its famous pages. But as the Onna Daigaku
was, as I said before, an embodiment of the
people's moral nature, the important meaning
of the doctrine, needless to say, does not rest
upon the book, but upon the heads of the people
♦ See the Appendix A,

28 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

themselves, and so far the people have not under-
gone much change in their mode of thought with
regard to this problem. Hence text-books in
girls' schools are more or less imbued with the
doctrine in the original or in a modified form.
There was, however, an attempt to overthrow
the prevailing idea by the late Mr. Fukuzawa,
the greatest educator of modern Japan, to whom
present Japan owes much of its civilisation,
which culminated in the promulgation of the
Shin Onna Daigaku or " the new greater learning
for women." Great and formidable as his success
was in the other departments of thought, his
new effort has not, up to the present, brought
about much important effect upon the problem.
So long as, I think, the present family system of
the people and their customs and condition of
living do not make any marked change, a com-
paratively large portion of the doctrine will hold
good and be found convenient by men. But on
the other hand, if women in new Japan become
more enlightened and look for happiness, both
for men and women, in a new form, and start
themselves a movement for the " emancipation
of women," how things will turn out I cannot
say. But I can, at the same time, assure our
women that there is an unexpectedly large number
of men who are quite ready to back them up if
any of those movements should come to the fore.
To avoid any possible misunderstanding on

DIVORCE 29

the part of my readers, I feel it my duty to add
here that with regard to the severance of conjugal
relations between a husband and wife, the reasons
minutely enumerated by Kaibara have no im-
portance whatever, and these matters are now
distinctly regulated by the Civil Code, an extract
of which will be found at the end of the book.

Shingoro Takaishi.

Aj}riU 1905.

WOMEN AND WISDOM
OF JAPAN

?i

girl's instruction

SEEING that it is a girFs destiny, on reaching
womanhood, to go to a new home, and live
in submission to her father-in-law, it is even more
incumbent upon her than it is on a boy to receive
with all reverence her parents' instructions.
Should her parents, through her tenderness, allow
her to grow up self-willed, she will infallibly show
herself capricious in her husband's house, and
thus alienate his affection ; while, if her father-
in-law be a man of correct principles, the girl
will find the yoke of these principles intolerable.
She will hate and decry her father-in-law, and
the end of these domestic dissensions will be her
dismissal from her husband's house and the
covering of herself with ignominy. Her parents,
forgetting the faulty education they gave her,
may, indeed, lay all the blame on the father-in-
law. But they will be in error ; for the whole
disaster should rightly be attributed to the faulty
education the girl received from her parents.

• • • • •

More precious in a woman is a virtuous heart

33 o

§4 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

than a face of beauty. The vicious woman's
heart is ever excited ; she glares wildly around
her, she vents her anger on others, her words are
harsh and her accent vulgar. When she speaks,
it is to set herself above others, to upbraid others,
to envy others, to be puffed up with individual
pride, to jeer at others, to outdo others — all
things at variance v»dth the way in which a
woman should walk. The only qualities that
befit a woman are gentle obedience, chastity,
mercy, and quietness.

n

DEMARKATION BETWEEN THE SEXES

From her earliest youth a girl should observe
the line of demarkation separating women from
men, and never, even for an instant, should she
be allowed to see or hear the least impropriety.
The customs of antiquity did not allow men and
women to sit in the same apartment, to keep
their wearing apparel in the same place, to
bathe in the same place, or to transmit to each
other anything directly from hand to hand. A
woman going abroad at night must in all cases
carry a lighted lamp ; and (not to speak of
strangers) she must observe a certain distance
in her relations even with her husband and
with her brothers. In our days the women

£)EMARKATI0N between the sexes 55

of lower classes, ignoring all rules of this
nature, behave themselves disorderly ; they
contaminate their reputations, bring down re-
proach upon the head of their parents and
brothers, and spend their whole lives in an un-
profitable manner. Is not this truly lamentable ?
It is written likewise in the Lesser Learning
that a woman must form no friendship and no
intimacy except when ordered to do so by her
parents or by middlemen,^ Even at the peril
of her life must she harden her heart like rock
or metal and observe the rules of propriety.

Ill

" SEVEN REASONS FOR DIVORCE "

In China marriage is called " returning," for
the reason that a woman must consider her
husband's home as her own, and that, when she
marries, she is therefore returning to her own
home. However low and needy her husband's
position may be, she must find no fault with him,
but consider the poverty of the household which

* The middleman is the go-between. It is the parents' duty
in Japan to secure a suitable partner for their child, and, in
turn, the conduct of the affair is customarily intrusted to a third
person (generally some married friend of theirs). The middle-
man thus negotiates the marriage, and often remains through
life a sort of godfather to the young couple.

36 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

it has pleased Heaven to give her as the ordering
of an unpropitious fate. The sage of old taught
that, once married, she must never leave her
husband's house. Should she forsake the " way "
and be divorced, shame shall cover her till her
latest hour. With regard to this point, there
are seven faults which are termed the " Seven
Reasons for Divorce " : ^

(i) A woman shall be divorced for disobedience
to her father-in-law or mother-in-law. (ii) A
woman shall be divorced if she fail to bear child-
ren, the reason for this rule being that women
are sought in marriage for the purpose of giving
men posterity. A barren woman should, how-
ever, be retained if her heart be virtuous and her
conduct correct and free from jealousy, in which
case a child of the same blood must be adopted ;
neither is there any just cause for a man to
divorce a barren wife if he have children by a
concubine, (iii) Lewdness is a reason for divorce,
(iv) Jealousy is a reason for divorce, (v) Leprosy
or any like foul disease is a reason for divorce,
(vi) A woman shall be divorced who, by

' Before the present system of government was adopted —
that is to say, about forty years ago — Japan had no divorce
law, nor a court for such a petition, and the divorce was effected
either by mutual agreement between the husband and wife or
entirely by the huisband's will. As any of these reasons was
justifiable for a husband to announce a divorce against his
wife, the reasons enumerated here, in a sense, appeared to have
amounted to a code of law. Fur tlie present condition see the
Appendix B.

SEVEN REASONS FOR DIVORCE 37

talking overmuch and prattling disrespectfully,
disturbs the harmony of kinsmen and brings
trouble on her household, (vii) A woman shall
be divorced who is addicted to stealing. All the
*' Seven Reasons for Divorce " were taught by
the sage. A woman, once married, and then
divorced, has wandered from the " way," and is
covered with great shame, even if she should
enter into a second union with a man of wealth
and position.

• • '• • • ■

It is the chief duty of a girl living in the
parental house to practise filial piety towards her
father and mother. But after marriage her duty
is to honour her father-in-law and mother-in-law,
to honour them beyond her father and mother,
to love and reverence them with all ardour,
and to tend them with practice of every filial
piety. While thou honourest thine own parents,
think not lightly of thy father-in-law ! Never
should a woman fail, night and morning, to pay
her respects to her father-in-law and mother-in-
law. Never should she be remiss in performing
any tasks they may require of her. With all
reverence must she carry out, and never rebel
against, her father-in-law's commands. On every
point must she inquire of her father-in-law and
mother-in-law, and abandon herself to their
direction. Even if thy father-in-law and mother-
in-law be pleased to hate and vilify thee, be not

38 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

angry with them, and murmur not. If thou
carry piety towards them to its utmost limits,
and minister to them in all sincerity, it cannot
be but that they will end by becoming friendly
to thee.

IV

THE wife's miscellaneous DUTIES

A WOMAN has no particular lord. She must
look to her husband as her lord, and must serve
him with all worship and reverence, not despising
or thinking lightly of him. The great lifelong
duty of a woman is obedience. In her dealings
with her husband, both the expression of her
countenance and style of her address should be
courteous, humble, and conciliatory, never peevish
and intractable, never rude and arrogant — that
should be a woman's first and chiefest care.
When the husband issues his instructions, the
wife must never disobey them. In doubtful
case she should inquire of her husband, and
obediently follow his commands. If ever her
husband should inquire of her, she should answer
to the point — to answer in a careless fashion were
a mark of rudeness. Should her husband be
roused at any time to anger, she must obey him
with fear and trembling, and not set herself up
against him in anger and forwardness, A womau

THE WIFE'S MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES 39

should look on her husband as if he were Heaven
itself, and never weary of thinking how she may
yield to her husband and thus escape celestial
castigation.

• • • • •

As brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law are the
brothers and sisters of a woman's husband, they
deserve all her reverence. Should she lay herself
open to the ridicule and dislike of her husband's
kindred, she would offend her parents-in-law, and
do harm even to herself ; whereas, if she lives on
good terms with them, she will likewise rejoice
the hearts of parents-in-law. Again, she should
cherish, and be intimate with, her brother-in-
law and his wife, esteeming them as she does
her own elder brother and sister.

Let her never even dream of jealousy. If her
husband be dissolute, she must expostulate with
him, but never either nurse or vent her anger.
If her jealousy be extreme, it will render her
countenance frightful and her accent repulsive,
and can only result in completely alienating her
husband from her, and making her intolerable
to his eyes. Should her husband act ill and
unreasonably, she must compose her countenance
and soften her voice to remonstrate with him ;
and if he be angry and listen not to the remon-
strance, she must wait over a season, and then
expostulate with him again when hi? heart i§

40 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

softened. Never set thyself up against thy hus-
band with harsh features and a boisterous voice.

• • • • •

A woman should be circumspect and sparing
in her use of words, and never, even for a pass-
ing moment, should she slander others or be
guilty of untruthfulness. Should she ever hear of
calumny, she should keep it to herself and repeat
it to none ; for it is retailing of calumny that
disturbs the harmony of kinsmen and ruins the
peace of families.

m m w

A woman must be ever on the alert, and keep
a strict watch over her own conduct. In the
morning she must rise early, and at night go
late to rest. Instead of sleeping in the middle
of the day, she must be intent on the duties of
her household, and must not weary of weaving,
sewing, and spinning. Of tea and wine she must
not drink overmuch, nor must she feed her eyes
and ears with theatrical performances, ditties,
and ballads. To temples ^ (whether Shinto or
Buddhist) and other like places where there is
a great concourse of people, she should go but
sparingly till she has reached the age of forty.

^ Tbe Japanese temples are the centreB of festivals, and
people go there not only for worshipping, but pleasure ; indeed,
a great number for the latter purpose. The Scotch game or
market-day in the country may be likened to the turn-out of
these occasions,

THE WIFE'S MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES 41

She must not let herself be led astray by
mediums and divineresses, and enter into an
irreverent familiarity with the gods ; neither
should she be constantly occupied in praying.
If only she satisfactorily perform her duties as
a human being, she may let prayer alone without
ceasing to enjoy the divine protection.

In her capacity of wife, she must keep her
husband's household in proper order. If the
wife be evil and profligate, the house is ruined.
In everything she must avoid extravagance, and
both with regard to food and raiment must act
according to her station in life, and never give
way to luxury and pride.

While young, she must avoid the intimacy
and familiarity of her husband's kinsmen, com-
rades, and retainers, ever strictly adhering to
the rule of separation between the sexes ; and
on no account whatever should she enter into
correspondence with a young man. Her personal
adornments and the colour and pattern of her
garments should be unobtrusive. It suffices for
her to be neat and cleanly in her person and in
her wearing apparel. It is wrong in her, by an
excess of care, to obtrude herself on other people's
notice. Only that which is suitable should be
practised.

a m n »

• • • • •

She must not selfishly think first of her own

42 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

parents and only secondly of her husband's re-
lations. At New Year, on Five Festivals, and
on other like occasions she should pay her first
respect to those of her husband's house, and then
to her own parents. Without her husband's
permission, she must go nowhere, neither should
she make any gift on her own responsibility.

As a woman rears up posterity not to her own
parents, but to her father-in-law and mother-in-
law, she must value the latter even more than the
former, and tend them filial piety. Her visits,
also, to the paternal house should be rare after
marriage. Much more then with regard to other
friends should it generally suffice for her to send a
message to inquire after their health. Again, she
must not be filled with pride at the recollection of
the splendour of her parental house, and must not
make it the subject of her conversations.

THE TREATMENT OF SERVANTS

However many servants she may have in her
employ, it is a woman's duty not to shirk the

' The Japanese parlourmaids are more concerned with the
household in which they are employed, and more familiar to
their masters, mistresses, and other members of th^ family than
the English ones,

THE TREATMENT OF SERVANTS 43

trouble of attending to everything herself. She
must sew her father-in-law's and mother-in-law's
garments, and make ready their food. Ever
attentive to the requirements of her husband,
fihe must fold his clothes and dust his rug, rear
his childi'en, wash what is dirty, be constantly
in the midst of her household, and never go
abroad but of necessity.

• • ■ • •

Her treatment of her handmaidens will require
circumspection. Those low-born girls have had
no proper education; they are stupid, obstinate,
and vulgar in their speech. When anything in the
conduct of their mistress's husband or parents-in-
law crosses their wishes, they fill her ears with
their invectives, thinking thereby to render her
a service. But any woman who should listen
to this gossip must beware of the heart-
burnings it will be sure to breed. Easy is it by
reproaches and disobedience to lose the love
of those who, like a woman's marriage con-
nections, were all originally strangers ; and it
were surely folly, by believing the prattle of a
servant-girl, to diminish the affection of a precious
father-in-law and mother-in-law. If a servant
girl be altogether too loquacious and bad, she
should speedily be dismissed ; for it is by the
gossips of such persons that occasion is given for
the troubling of the harmony of kinsmen and the
disordering of a household. Again, in her dealings

44 WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAPAN

with these low people, a woman will find many
things to disapprove of. But if she be for ever
reproving and scolding, and spend her time in
hustle and anger, her household will be in a con-
tinual state of disturbance. When there is real
wrongdoing, she should occasionally notice it, and
point out the path of amendment, while lesser
faults should be quietly endured without anger.
While in her heart she compassionates her
subordinates' weakness, she must outwardly
admonish them with all strictness to walk in the
path of propriety, and never allow them to fall
into idleness. If any is to be succoured, let her
not be grudging of her money ; but she must not
foolishly shower down her gifts on such as merely
please her individual caprice, but are unprofitable
servants.

VI

THE INFIRMITIES OF WOMAN

The five worst infirmities that afflict the female
are indocility, discontent, slander, jealousy, and
silliness. Without any doubt, these five infirmi-
ties are found in seven or eight out of every ten
women, and it is from these that arises the
inferiority of women to men. A woman should
cure them by self-inspection and self-reproach.

THE mFIRMlTlES OP WOMAN 45

The worst of them all and the parent of the other
four is silliness. Woman's nature is passive.
This passiveness being of the nature of night is
dark. Hence, as viewed from the standard of
man's nature, the foolishness of woman fails to
understand the duties that lie before her very
eyes, perceives not the actions that will bring
down blame upon her own head, and compre-
hends not even the things that will bring down
calamities on the head of her husband and child-
ren. Neither when she blames and accuses and
curses innocent persons, nor when, in her jealousy
of others, she thinks to set up herself alone, does
she see that she is her own enemy, estranging
others and incurring thek hatred. Lamentable
errors ! Again, in the education of her children,
her blind affection induces an erroneous system.
Such is the stupidity of her character that it is
incumbent on her, in every particular, to distrust
herself and to obey her husband.

a

We are told that it was the custom of the
ancients, on the birth of a female child, to let
it lie on the floor for the space of three days.
Even in this may be seen the likening of the
man to heaven and of the woman to earth ; and
the custom should teach a woman how necessary
it is for her in everything to yield to her husband
the first, and to be herself content with the second
place ; to avoid pride, even if there be in her

4a WOMEN AND WISDOM OF JAMN

actions aught deserving praise ; and, on the other
hand, if she transgress in aught and incur blame,
to wend her way through the difficulty and amend
the fault, and so conduct herself as not again to
lay herself open to censure ; to endure without
anger and indignation the jeers of others, suffering
such things with patience and humility. If a
woman acts thus, her conjugal relation cannot
but be harmonious and enduring, and her house-
hold a scene of peace and concord.

• • • • •

Parents ! teach the foregoing maxims to your
daughters from their tenderest years ! Copy
them out from time to time, that they may read
and never forget them ! Better than the gar-
ments and divers vessels which the fathers of
the present day so lavishly bestow upon their
daughters when giving them away in marriage,
were it to teach them thoroughly these precepts,
which would guard them as- a precious jewel
throughout their lives. How true is that ancient
saying : "A man knoweth how to spend a million
pieces of money in marrying off his daughter,
but knoweth not how to spend a hundred thou-
sand in bringing up his child ! " Such as have
daughters must lay this well to heart.

APPENDICES

47

APPENDIX A

THE JAPANESE REVOLUTION"

EVERY historian who deals with the modern
history of Japan dates the new epoch
from the time when the American Commodore
Perry came to this country with his " black
ships," as the Japanese then called warships.

I cannot venture to depart from this estab-
lished precedent in my description, and, indeed,
using a favourite Japanese phrase, the blank shot
fired from Perry's ships was the signal for the
raising of the curtain which had covered the
whole country, and behind which the people had
revelled in their entire isolation from the outer
world for so many years.

Now it was in 1853 when Perry paid his armed
yet very peaceful visit to this hermit country.
It was only some months ago that the fiftieth
anniversary of his visit was celebrated at Tokio
with a full expression of the national gratitude
to him and his country.

Well, I think it is important to give you here

49 D

60 APPENDIX A

some idea as to the condition of the country at
this time. Japan was then under the Government
of the Tokugawa Shj^ogun ; that is to say, the
inhabitants dwelt under a feudal system which
had been so carefully planned by the founder of
the Tokugawa Dynasty that his line lasted for
the longest period that ever the feudal rulers in
Japan enjoyed, viz. 260 years.

I have to explain what the Shyogun's position
really was. The Shyogun was the Emperor's
deputy. The principle of the relationship be-
tween him and the Emperor (known in Europe
as the Mikado) was never put down in any statute,
but practically it was very simple and clear,
because, frankly speaking, such power as the
Shyogun then enjoyed had really been wrested
from the Emperor, though it was obtained by
peaceful methods, and was justified by time-
honoured traditions. It was, as a matter of fact,
announced by the Shyogun that he was entrusted
by the Emperor with the whole affairs of the
State, the Emperor reserving no power of sanction
or veto with regard to his conduct. In short, the
Emperor gave up all those rights and duties
which properly attach to the Sovereign of a
country except the actual occupancy of the
throne. The Shyogun might declare war against
a foreign country, as weU as make a treaty with
one, without sanction from the Emperor, and
might even ignore him altogether as regards the

POSITION OF THE SHYOGUN 61

negotiations. This is a brief statement of their
relationship.

The Shyogun resided in Yedo (now Tokio)
with all his Governmental officials, and the
Emperor dwelt in Kyoto. Yedo of course took
the shape of a capital, with the largest popula-
tion, wealth, luxury, and social prosperity. Under
the Shyogun there were about 300 Daimyo, i.e.
feudal lords, each possessing subjects and lands
in his own locality.

As to the diplomacy of the country the motto
of the founder of the Tokugawa Dynasty was
" no intercourse whatever." This would have
been beyond question the best way to keep the
nation uninformed and undisturbed, and therefore
prepared to give blind obedience to the Shyogun.
There were but few in those days who knew that
there was a vast land called America, or were
cognisant of the existence of Great Britain.

In these circumstances it is hardly possible to
imagine now how great the wonder was when they
knew of the sudden presence of the American
ships near Yedo Bay. The whole nation felt
that it had lost its individuality. The people
had no idea of friendly intercourse between
nations. The existence of a State was deemed
to be at an end when it came into contact with
some superior State. The maintenance of a State
in friendly intercourse with another was looked
upon as a matter of impossibility. " The

52 APPENDIX A

weaker," it was supposed, " always went to the
waU/'

Let me now come back to the subject of the
" black ships." While the event created such an
astonishment and alarm throughout the country
as had never been known before, it served as a
stimulant to the people's mind; as well as pointed
out a path leading to the downfall of the Toku-
gawa Government. Finding the task of dealing
with the Americans too onerous for its own
capacity, or considering the responsibility for
the affairs to be altogether too great, the Yedo
Government made a new departure from its long-
cherished governing principle. It summoned the
feudal lords to consider, firstly the course that
should be pursued, and secondly to prepare an
address to the Court in Kioto — that is to say,
to the Emperor — a formal report concerning
the advent of the American ships. Never pre-
viously had the Yedo (government asked the
feudal lords for their opinions as such, nor had
it officially acquainted the Emperor with affairs
of State. It is important to notice that this very
act constituted a fatal blow to the Shyogun's
administration, inasmuch as it was an open
abrogation of its thereunto unique and autocratic
authority.

Let us now see what was the general attitude
towards this momentous question of opening the
country. Needless to say, the largest section of

JAPAXESE ISOLATION 53

the people was dead against conceding anything
to the ahens. They had no reasons to urge for
their conviction, but they regarded the isolation
of the country as a divinely inherited creed, and
therefore they did not want to reason about it,
but simply to believe in it. Yet I may divide the
people into three parties for convenience' sake.
The members of the first were what we then called
" Dutch Students,*' who advocated the opening
of the country, and maintained very liberal and
progressive views.

Judging from their argument, their opinion was
quite in accord with Free Trade. But this section,
of course, was numerically small, and had no
influence upon the pubKc at that early date.
The second consisted of the people, who were
also anti-foreign, but insisted on temporary com-
pliance with the aliens' wishes, hoping to gain
time to develop the national strength, so that
they could presently beat o5 the foreign intruders.
This opinion was held by comparatively a large
number of educated people, and no doubt the
Yedo (rovemment was largely inspired by this
policy.

Meanwhile, Commodore Perry, who had left the
coimtry the previous year under a promise that
the Yedo Government would give a definite answer
in the following year, now came over once more
to repeat the tactics he had employed before.
After a long and embarrassing council, the Yedo

54 APPENDIX A

Government at last found no other course but
to open some comparatively unimportant ports
in 1858.

This concession, I may say, was the signal for
an outburst of national indignation. By this
time the doctrine to revere the Emperor, which
was renewed and emphasised some half century
before by Shinto scholars and many profound
thinkers, had now begun to bear fruit in the minds
of a large section of the people. Disgusted with
the Yedo Government, which, they thought, had
disgracefully given way to the foreigners, and
inspired by the doctrine of the superiority of the
Emperor, the whole nation closed up into one
party to resist this national calamity. The cry
of " Son-no- jo-i " was reverberated from end to
end of the country. " Son-no- jo-i " means, " Re-
vere the sovereign, expel the aliens." Thus the
first act of the revolution was opened.

The dispute as regards the opening of the
country had by this time been dropped and put
into the background. The most important ques-
tion was this : how to elect a powerful Government
to deal with the national affairs in accordance
with their ancestral dignity. No doubt this idea
began to take root in the people's mind, owing
to the revelation of the weakness of the Yedo
Government.

Unfortunately for the Shyogun's Government,
amidst this controversy they lost the services of

EMPEROR AND SHYOGUN 55

their ablest premier, Tairo li, who was assas-
sinated by a band of the Mito Clan's Samurai,
who were indignant at his high-handed policy in
oppressing the antagonists to the Yedo adminis-
tration. After his death the Shyogun was prac-
tically unable to control his subjects, and for the
moment the country seemed to be in a state of
complete anarchy, and a large number of the
feudal lords knew not what to do.

To solve the momentous question how to elect
an effective Government, there was first put for-
ward a moderate doctrine entitled a " System of
Co-operative Government." Its principal feature
was to bring both the Emperor and Shyogun
into a workable Government. This opinion was
held by many responsible and powerful feudal
lords, as well as by a great number of their able
subjects, and it was most popular and therefore
had great influence, because the largest portion
of the feudal lords and people were as well devoted
and loyal to their feudal ruler the Shyogun as to
the Emperor, and even the radical party, it seems
to me, never thought at the beginning of such a
complete destruction of the Shyogun's Govern-
ment as thev devised later on.

However, to understand the situation it must
be remembered that there was a peculiar section
of people who had never paid homage to the
Shyogun and had the easiest access to the
Emperor. They were what we called " Kuge "

66 APPENDIX A

— the Court nobility. They were the descendants
of the nobility, who once exerted great influence
in the Court when the Emperor had personally
governed the country. While the reins were in the
hands of the Shyogun they had nothing to do but
to attend some occasional Court ceremonials, and
practically had no influence either politically or
socially. But now this group of nobility began
to play a most important part in the drama of
the revolution. Furthermore, it happened that
there were some clever and statesmanlike poli-
ticians among them.

Quite naturally the majority of the nobflity
did not like the principle of " give and take,'*
that is, of " Co-operative Government," but aimed
at the perfect restoration of power to the Kyoto
Court. At this time a number of young and
ambitious Samurai, of comparatively low rank,
under their respective lords, were gravitating
towards the Kyoto Court, and there found friends
among the nobility. The Samurai of the
Chyoshyu Clan, one of the most powerful, at
last persuaded their lord to take most decisive
measures to support the Kyoto Court in an effort
to regain power. The Court nobility thus brought
a most powerful chieftain to their aid. By this
time the Satsuma Clan, also one of the strongest,
was changing its opinion in favour of the support
of the Kyoto policy, and therefore formed an
alliance with the Chyoshyu Clan, against whom

A COURT INTRIGUE 57

a little time before they had fought a fight for
the Shyogun. Consequently, although the in-
trigue of the nobility with Chyoshyu to overturn
the Yedo Government had been foiled on account
of its premature disclosure, yet when the Shyogun
sent troops to attack Chyoshyu, he found that
the Satsuma's Samurai were acting upon a secret
understanding with the objects of his wrath.

On the whole, however, the overthrow of th@
Yedo Government and the restoration of the
Kyoto Court was not yet a popular course. In
addition to this, the Emperor Komei, father of
the present Emperor, himself did not wish such
a radical change of the Government, and the
moderate nobility also supported the policy of
*' co-operation." Therefore, when the Chyoshyu's
intrigue was discovered, the Emperor dismissed
the nobility who took part in the matter, and
they thus forfeited their titles.

In spite of this general desire for a peaceful
and amicable settlement, there was an irresistible
adverse current running underneath the whole
surface. By this time the new Shyogun Keiki
found more acutely than before that he was
standing in a more and more difficult position,
and that the ancient power of Shyogun had now
vanished. This was a quite natural and necessary
result of their action, because, as I have said
before, the Yedo Government had already de-
parted from its well-planned and fundamental

68 APPENDIX A

principle, which had its backbone in feudalism.
Consequently, after the Shyogun's self-effacing
act, the Yedo Government, although it retained
to some extent its shape, may be likened to a
body of which the spiritual essence has departed.
At this time the chief of Tosa, a clan no less
important than Satsuma or Chyoshyu, presented
a remarkable memorial to the new Shyogun
Keiki, setting forth the helplessness of the Yedo
Government, and urging that in the interest of
good Government, and in order that the nation's
united strength might be available to meet the
contingencies of its new career, the administrative
power should be restored to the Emperor. Beyond
question it must have been ridiculous to listen
to such a plea if the Shyogun's power had re-
mained unchanged. But Keiki himself was a
man of common sense and loyal to the Emperor.
No doubt he was convinced that the Shyogun's
power had already gone for ever, and to attempt
to keep up its old prestige was tantamount to
awaiting the forced destruction of its whole
edifice by other hands, and that, if it was once
done, the glorious family of Tokugawa might
have been completely effaced from contemporary
history. Thus Tosa's timely advice gave definite
form to his convictions, and at last, in 1867,
fourteen years after the American advent to the
country, the Shyogun Tokugawa Keiki presented
a formal address to the present Emperor to be

THE SHYOGUN ABDICATES 59

permitted to give up his administrative powers
into the Sovereign's own hands. It was a great
as w^ell as patriotic determination on the part of
Keiki, and well worthy the admiration of his
compatriots, in that he gave up for his country
his Court at Yedo, which had lacked no attribute
of stately magnificence or autocratic strength,
and retired wholly into private life. Nevertheless,
this pacific act of the Shyogun was not received
with much sympathy by some of the nobility
and by the Samurai from the Satsuma and
Chyoshyu Clans, who were now the best friends
of the nobility. On the contrary, they desired
not only to exclude the Shyogun Keiki from
taking part in the new Government, but decided
to ask him to abandon his fief and people at once.
Apparently the chasm between the Revolutionists,
or, I may say, the Imperialists, and the Shyogun
was absolutely unbridgeable. The Imperialists
had in view the thorough abrogation of the Shyo-
gun's office and the creation of a strong central
Government under direct control of the Emperor.
In the face of such provocation Keiki, greatly
moved by his loyal vassals, took up arms against
Kyoto. But his force was defeated at the be-
ginning by the Samurai of the southern clans,
and he retired to Yedo (now Tokio), the seat of
his Court, about three hundred miles north-east
of Kyoto.

Thereupon a regular army was formed at Kyoto

60 APPENDIX A

under the name of the " Imperial Army,*' to
attack Yedo ; but when the force came near
Yedo, the sensible Shyogun still did not lose his
judgment, and evinced his appreciation of the
situation in declaring once more his willingness
to hand over his capital and to give up all his
power. It will be remembered, although he
voluntarily surrendered, he had still the majority
of the feudal lords with him, and, if he had so
desired, he could have accumulated a strong
force, more powerful even than the Imperial
Army.

In spite of his determined surrender, his vassals
in Yedo, and the clans' Samuria in several
localities armed themselves, at their own dis-
cretion, against the Imperialists, and fought for
their cause with the most admirable sincerity
and daring. Nevertheless, the Shyogunites,
some of whom made so stubborn a resistance
that they went to Yezo or Hokkaido, the extreme
north of the country, and there proclaimed the
establishment of a republic, were at last defeated
and surrendered. I may add that Viscount
Hayashi, the present Japanese Minister at the
Court of St. James, was one of the Royal Shyo-
gunites, and fought till the last, when he and his
colleagues surrendered to the Imperial Army at a
besieged fort in Hokkaido.

Thus universal tranquillity was at last gained
after one-and-a-half year's unrest, dating from

THE NEW JAPAN 61

the time that the Shyogun formally restored his
power.

What I have said is only a very broad outline
of how the Japanese Revolution was carried out.
In conclusion I must now briefly refer to the
effects which it had upon the general policy of
the country. I think you all understand the
revolution was prompted by an inspiration to
expel the aliens and in reverence for the sove-
reign, and that therefore the new Government
was the product of this anti-foreign idea. How-
ever, the scene had undergone a sudden change ;
anti-foreignism had vanished altogether. The
new Government hastened to introduce the
Western civilisation as much as they could.
Everything of Japanese native production was
now contemptuously put aside as " old and
obsolete." More and more the Government
sent students in numbers to every country where
they thought they could learn Western civilisa-
tion. The people who were not very long ago
fiercely angry with everything foreign, now did
not witness these changes with any sense of
surprise whatever. They joined triumphantly
in the new policy of the new Government. While
respect for antiquity vanished, newness was the
very mainspring and life of everything. This
peculiar state of things is explained in two ways.
First, the cry of " Alien expulsion " was raised
mainly to condemn the policy of the Shyogun'a

62 APPENDIX A

Government, and thus to make the movement
against Yedo appear a legitimate one. Secondly,
the people got to know more about the foreigners
after the opening of the country, which the
Tokugawa Government was forced to do by the
American envoy, and, seeing their superiority
as well as their peaceful motives, they now fully
recognised the advantages of maintaining the
policy of the open door and of accommodating
themselves to Western civilisation, and assimi-
lating its advantages.

Finally, in the year 23 Meiji, that is to say,
about fifteen years ago from the present date,
the new constitution which set forth the principle
of the limited monarchy, having more resemblance
to the British than any other country's, was
promulgated, and the new Cabinet under the
new constitution was formed with the Premier
Marquis Ito, who was one of the Chyoshyu's
Samurai.

APPENDIX B

THE LEGAL CONDITIONS FOR A DIVORCE

An Extract from the Japanese Civil Code

Prov. 808. The husband and wife may effect
a divorce by mutual consent.

Prov. 809. A person who has not reached the
age of twenty-five in order to effect a divorce by
mutual consent must obtain the consent of those
persons whose consent, according to Arts. 772
and 773, would be necessary to his contracting
a marriage.

Prov. 813 (judicial divorce). A husband or
a wife, as the case may be, can bring an action
for divorce only in the following cases :

1. If the other party contracts a second

marriage.

2. If the wife commits adultery.

3. If the husband is sentenced to punish-

ment for an offence involving criminal
carnal intercourse.

4. If the other party is sentenced to punish-

ment for an offence greater than mis-
demeanour, involving forgery, bribery,

63

64 APPENDIX B

sexual immorality, theft, robbery, ob-
taining property by false pretences,
embezzlement of goods deposited, re-
ceiving property obtained criminally,
or any of the offences specified in
Arts. 175 or 260 of the Criminal Code,
or is sentenced to a major imprisonment
or more.
6. If any party is deserted by the other with
wilful intention.

6. If any party is ill-treated or grossly in-

sulted by an ascendant of the other
party.

7. If an ascendant of one party is ill-treated

or grossly insulted by the other party.

8. If it has been uncertain for three years

or more whether the other party was
alive or dead.

9. In the case of the adoption of a Muko-

yoshi,^ if the adoption is dissolved ; or
in the case of the marriage of an adopted
son with a daughter of the house, if the
adoption is dissolved or cancelled.

* Mukoyoshi is a person who is adopted by another, and at
the same time marries the daughter of the house, who would be
the heir to the headship of the house.

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